WHEN Matheus Cunha whipped his top off to celebrate scoring a late-winner against Roma, he exposed a WHOOP band wrapped around his arm.
His specific strap was designed by customisers, WhoopSkin, who also count and F1 legend Lewis Hamilton as clients.
But, it’s the technology itself which is giving athletes exactly what they need to perform at their best.
is a screenless, 24/7 wearable fitness and health tracker that focuses on recovery, strain, sleep quality and overall physiological data.
Starting at £169 and ranging up to £349, it operates on a subscription-based model bundled in with the hardware, and won over in 2024, when he became an investor.
Since then, has joined the party and become a global ambassador, while the England football team has also been pictured wearing them.
But, what do they do? SunSport tells you all you need to know and why it could make a brilliant Christmas present for your loved ones.
The tech
uses multiple internal sensors to collect high-frequency data, including heart rate, heart rate variability (HRV), skin temperature and blood oxygen levels. It does this multiple times per second.
Because of its screenless design, it operates without a watch face, notifications or buttons to eliminate digital distractions.
Complex data is collected and recorded on a mobile phone app in three primary pillars.
Strain is measured by the cardiovascular and muscular load your body accumulates from workouts, stress and daily life.
Recovery is calculated each morning based on overnight HRV, resting heart rate and sleep performance.
A Sleep Coach analyses sleep cycles, disturbances and efficiency to recommend optimal bed and wake times.
also allows users to log over 140 daily habits and behaviours, such as alcohol intake, meditation or travel, to see how they impact long-term recovery and health.
Better still, you don’t have to take it off to charge it. It has a waterproof slide-on wireless battery pack that lets you charge the device while wearing it.
The benefits
There are plenty of reasons why top athletes are wearing WHOOP bands.
They prevent overtraining and burnout by pairing daily strain targets with your morning recovery score, then telling you whether to push hard in training or take a rest day.
They give high tracking accuracy for heart rate variability (HRV) which helps athletes spot early signs of fatigue, illness or high physical stress before they manifest.
WHOOP Black Friday Deals 2026
WHOOP is a strange company. Its physical product, the WHOOP 5.0 wearable, is technically free
But, the thing you pay for is a monthly membership that unlocks access to the data and insights the band collects.
While the company hasn’t started its Black Friday sale yet, it’s already announced what shoppers can expect.
From 19th November, the price of a one-year Peak membership will be slashed from £229 to £189, a saving of £40.
And the price of a bells-and-whistles Life membership will be slashed from £329 to £289, a discount of £60.
Unfortunately, there doesn’t look to be any discount on the entry-level One membership , which costs £169.
However, WHOOP has confirmed that existing members can take advantage of the sale prices.
Discounts of up to 25% on its accessories, including bands and apparel, have also been confirmed.
For all the details, check out our .
Instead of just recording how long you slept, the Sleep Coach guides you on how much rest you actually need based on how exhausted your body is.
As a lifestyle link, the WHOOP connects lifestyle choices, think late-night meals or stress, directly to physiological markers, which helps users make data-driven adjustments.
And on , WHOOP users are regularly comparing their strain scores, so it’s almost like you’re part of one, big community motivating each other on.
Backed by Ronaldo
Before he became an investor, used the WHOOP band privately for over two years as a paying subscriber.
Then, in 2024, he met WHOOP CEO Will Ahmed in Riyadh and put his money into the group, while becoming a global ambassador.
also reportedly became an investor when he participated in the company’s $575 million (£430million) funding round, which valued WHOOP at $10.1 billion (£7.55billion) that same year.
Backed by Ronaldo and James, the WHOOP band is a tool you need if you’re a fitness obsessive.
